3 mistakes that killed my first $500 in memecoin trading

Lost about $500 my first 2 weeks trading Solana memecoins. Not a huge amount but enough to learn some expensive lessons. Here’s what I wish I knew:

1. Bonding curve timing > entry price

I kept buying tokens at 5-10% bonding thinking I was “early.” Reality? Most tokens die before 30%. Now I wait for 40-60% bonding with sustained volume before entering. The tokens that survive to 70%+ have way better graduation rates.

2. Position sizing destroys you faster than bad picks

My biggest mistake wasn’t choosing bad tokens – it was going too heavy on single positions. Lost 0.3 SOL on one rug because I put 60% of my stack into it. Now I max out at 10% per position. Boring but it keeps you alive.

3. Exit plan before entry

Used to buy and just “see what happens.” That’s gambling, not trading. Now I set my exit at 2x OR 70% bonding, whichever comes first. Takes emotion out of it.

The biggest thing that helped? I stopped trading real SOL for 2 weeks and just practiced timing entries/exits with fake money until my win rate was consistent. Sounds lame but it saved me from losing another $500 learning the same lessons.

Anyone else learn expensive lessons early on? What patterns clicked for you?